


When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can.

by thelikeness



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 13:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8626936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelikeness/pseuds/thelikeness
Summary: The path to true love is not one easily traveled, especially when one of the people involved is deep in denial and there is a murder to solve. Frank and Nancy finally admit they love each other, but not before annoying everyone around them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This follows events from the PC game series and some details form the yellow hardcover books. Other things I have made up myself and decided should be canon. Please be nice, this is my first fic and I cry easily. I hope you enjoy! Also, the title of this fic is from the movie "Moonstruck". I highly recommend it.

Nancy tapped her pencil idly against the textbook, mouthing the words as she read them. At first Bess thought it was a song and it was all she was able to focus on. Now she was only sure that it was driving her crazy.

“For the love of all that is good and pure in this world, Nancy, stop tapping!” Nancy looked at her with a faint smile, her mind still mostly on the text in front of her.

“Stop what?”

“The tapping,” Bess said, wildly flapping her hand in Nancy’s direction. “I can’t focus and I have a test coming up.” She let her face fall onto the book. “I hate this. College is the worst. Why am I doing this to myself?”

“So you can save the people of the world.”

“But why does nursing have so many things that just _have_ to be memorized,” Bess whined, even as she lifted her head to continue studying.

“I think I once got a fortune cookie that answered that, but I can’t remember now.”

“When are the Hardy boys getting here? Joe will save me from this boredom.” As she made the declaration, Bess pulled out her phone to text the boy in question. She propped her chin in her hand, sizing up Nancy who was, to the untrained eye, staring studiously at her book. “Alright, spill it.”

“Spill what,” Nancy murmured, not looking up. Bess knew her best friend was a much better liar than that, but with family she tended to be easier to read.

“It,” Bess stressed. Nancy sighed, shoving her hair behind her ears.

“Ned and I got into a fight over the Hardy boys staying here,” she said, and let out a huff. “Well, not a fight. More of a… disagreement… that ended loudly.” Bess snorted, both amused at her friend’s response and irritated that there was a “disagreement” to be vague about. To be fair, though, Bess knew that he did sort of have a reason to be jealous. Hell, it seemed like everyone knew the reason except for Nancy and Frank, the half of the Hardy boys that Ned had the problem with.

“Well, that is just silly,” Bess said instead, not wanting to start the “you’re-in-love-with-Frank-Hardy-no-I’m-not” argument. At least, not without George to back her up.

“That’s what I said! My dad and Fenton have been friends since they were kids, and so have Frank, Joe, and I. There is no reason for him to be jealous,” Nancy replied, tossing her pencil at the table after the lead broke under the angry pressure of her hand. This worried Bess more than anything because Nancy was usually the last person to lose her cool. “Sorry, I’m just tired of having this fight and every other fight we have been having lately. I just feel like I can’t do anything right and even though I know Ned isn’t trying to make me feel that way, I can’t shake it.” Bess sighed and reached out to take Nancy’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Nancy offered a smile in return, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Her phone buzzed and she unlocked it to see a photo of Joe, side-leaping on Frank next to the baggage claim. Frank, for his part, looked very annoyed at almost being knocked onto the carousel. The caption declared that they had “LANDED!!!!” Bess laughed and passed the phone off to Nancy, who joined in, this time in earnest.

 _Lookin’ good, bring me airport chocolate,_ Bess responded. “Does this mean we have officially done enough studying for the day?”  
“They’re still about an hour away,” Nancy said with a grin. “Open your book back up.”

                                                                           

                                                                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He had denied it for so long, but he couldn’t deny it any longer, mostly because Joe wouldn’t let him; he was helplessly, head over heels, the moon is as big as a pizza pie in love with Nancy and had been for God knows how long. According to Joe, it was forever and then some, but he did have a flair for the dramatic. Frank had finally been forced to admit to himself that what he felt for Nancy wasn’t just a crush anymore when they had worked the train mystery together. Seeing her be so clever, so courageous, so stubborn, had sent him over the edge he had been balancing on for a long time. And last Christmas when the Drews had come to Bayport for the holiday, Nancy’s presence had made him happier than any of the presents he got and when she had given him a friendly kiss on the cheek under a mistletoe, he thought he was going to melt right there into the floor. Joe had been ecstatic with triumph when Frank was talking to him about it later that night, after the house had gone to bed and had woken up to a bunch of texts from Bess and George wanting to talk to him about it too. It had been an absolute mess. Especially because she was dating Ned and Ned was a great guy and a great friend and here Frank was, pining after his girlfriend. Knowing that didn’t stop the butterflies from erupting in his stomach when he saw the sign for River Heights.

“Are we going to be there soon? I’m starving.” Joe’s complaints broke through Frank’s thinking.

“We’re almost at the Drews’, where we will be having dinner,” Laura Hardy answered from the front seat. “And since we’re almost there, I would like you to be quiet for the rest of the drive.” Her smile took the bite out of the words.

“Carson’s not going to be the one cooking, is he? I still can’t look at meatloaf the same way after that,” Joe said with an exaggerated wince. Frank bit back a hysterical giggle, his nerves starting to get the better of him. He looked up and saw his mother giving him a small grin in the rearview mirror and he blushed, turning his head to stare determinedly out the window. When he was younger Frank had thought his mother was psychic because she seemed to know everything and even now at twenty one, even though he was firmly against the idea of anything supernatural, his mother’s intuition made him wonder. He liked to believe he wasn’t that transparently in love with Nancy.

As the Hardy’s pulled up, Frank could see Nancy and Bess sitting in the Drews’ living room, the late afternoon sun catching Nancy’s copper waves. She was laughing at something Bess was telling her. He had never seen her look so beautiful, which was admittedly something he thought every time he saw her.

“Oh hey, Bess is still here,” Joe said as he excitedly unbuckled his seat belt. “Wait, does this mean she is really expecting the airport chocolate?”

“I told you not to eat it,” his mother said.

“I’m sorry, okay? I just really like Toblerones.” Normally, Frank would have joined in his mother’s teasing of his younger brother, but Nancy had seen them and was on her way over and his mouth was suddenly too dry to make a sound.

“Hey Hardys,” Nancy called with a wide smile as she descended the porch steps. She opened her arms and Laura hugged her first, giving the younger woman a kiss on the cheek. He wondered if he could get away with giving her a kiss too.

“Hi sweetheart,” Laura Hardy replied. She turned to Bess next. “And Bess dear, it is so good to see you again!”

“You too, Mrs. H! How was your flight?”

The conversation fell away around Frank because Nancy had set her eyes on him and was on her way over. It seemed like she was moving in slow motion and he was suddenly aware of how hard his heart was thudding in his chest. His breathing seemed too loud in his ears and he was surprised that Nancy couldn’t seem to hear it. She stood before him, looking like she was trying hard to keep her grin contained.

“Hey Hardy,” she said, her blue eyes twinkling.

“Hey Drew,” he replied, his cheeks starting to hurt from how wide he was smiling. Her own smile broke free, and she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, resting his cheek on her head.

“How are you,” she mumbled against his chest.

“Can’t complain,” he answered, his breath stirring her hair. “You?”

“Peachy,” she said with a small laugh. The hug ended, as it always did, much too soon, Nancy moving on to give his father a hug. Joe sidled up next to Frank, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Ready to explode yet,” Joe asked cheerfully, very much enjoying his brother’s lovesick longing.

“Oh yeah,” Frank replied grimly.


	2. Chapter 2

Nancy hadn’t slept well that night. The fight with Ned had gotten worse. He had been trying to get a hold of her all evening, but she had forgotten her phone in her room upstairs. Admittedly, she was thrown because Ned had never acted this way before. Frustrated, she had tossed and turned all night, before finally giving up and starting breakfast. Footsteps caused Nancy to turn her head, not pausing in her whisking. She smiled when she saw it was Frank, who took a moment to snap out of his deer-in-headlights response before answering her smile with one of his own.

“What are you doing up so early,” he asked.

“I could ask the same of you, Hardy,” she replied, turning to face him with the bowl in hand.

“No you couldn’t. I have the time difference on my side.”

“It’s not that big of a time difference,” she disagreed as her smile widened. “I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d make everyone breakfast. How do pancakes sound?”

“They sound perfect,” he said perhaps a bit too earnestly, but luckily for him, the coffee maker dinged, announcing that coffee was ready. “Do you still take yours with honey and milk?”

“I can’t believe you remember that,” Nancy said as she put the batter back on the counter to dig out the skillet.

“Of course I do. Detective, remember?” They were quiet as Frank poured them coffee and Nancy worked on the pancakes and bacon. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”

Nancy sighed. “I just have… a lot on my mind right now.”

In the past, Frank wouldn’t have pressed Nancy for details because he understood not wanting to deal with things, but now he had feelings for her and those feelings were making him do all sorts of crazy things, like being oddly enthusiastic about breakfast and trying to talk to her. He was doomed. “Do you want to talk about it?” There, that seemed like a safe and completely platonic thing to say.

“You don’t want to hear about my relationship drama.” Oh, but he did.

“Hey now, anything for my best friend.”

“I thought Joe was your best friend. He’ll be crushed when he finds out he’s been replaced.”

“You can have more than one best friend, but I can’t?”

“Of course not. I expect to be the center of your whole world.” She kind of was, but she didn’t need to know that.

“So, that’s a no?” He hoped he wasn’t pressing too much. He didn’t think he was, but if it wasn’t for a case, he was hopeless at reading people.

“Ned and I have just been fighting a lot lately.”

“What about? I-if you don’t mind my asking, that is.”

“Do you remember that fight we had when I was in Germany?”

“So more of the same?”

“Yep, only now it seems to be happening much more frequently than before.”

Frank internally scolded himself for the leap his heart made at her words. Nancy and Ned were his friends, he shouldn’t feel any sort of happiness over their fighting. He forced himself to remember the camping trip Ned had arranged when Frank had broken up with Callie to take his mind off it, and the time that Ned had bought courtside tickets for Frank’s favorite basketball team for his birthday. Ned was a great guy and Nancy deserved being with a great guy. And she was. Case closed.

“Am I just going to have to choose between Ned and being a detective?”

She didn’t know it, but her question threw him. The awful part of him that he was trying so hard to stamp down was screaming at her to dump him, while the much larger part of him just wanted her to be happy, but he couldn’t be sure what would be the best choice for her. “Would you be happy with him if he asked you to choose?” She sighed and took a sip of her coffee.

“No, but would it be better to choose my career over my boyfriend?”

“Being a detective isn’t just a career to you, though. And even if it was, you have never been the type of girl to let someone else make any sort of decision for her.”

She was quiet for a moment, pushing the bacon around the frying pan with the edge of her spatula. “I guess it’s sort of a silly thing to worry about, seeing as I’m only twenty.” She sighed. “I’ve just been with Ned for so long that it feels inevitable that I’ll end up with him.” It would have been less painful if she had just poured the hot bacon grease on his head.

“Do you want to?” He had meant to only think that question, not to actually say it, but the damned thing had slipped out regardless. Frank felt his stomach clench painfully as she slowly lowered the spatula and turned to face him. “I don’t know,” she answered.

 

 

In Nancy’s defense, it wasn’t completely a lie; it was only mostly a lie. When she thought about marrying Ned and having a family with Ned, she didn’t get butterflies or anything and normally, it wasn’t an issue. But then Frank calls her, or shows up in her home, or just otherwise invades her thoughts and she feels all tingly and she can picture him at the end of the aisle, Joe next to him crying, of course, and she gets all confused and… it was a mess. Luckily, her dad came in then to save her from herself because Frank’s face was just so earnest and his eyes were so intense and dark that she was so close to just blurting out that she-

“Morning kids,” Carson greeted cheerfully, ever a morning person.

“Hey dad,” Nancy said too loudly, turning back around quickly to face to stove. “Going for your run?”

“Just waiting for Fenton to get his shoes on.” He turned to Frank with a grin. “Going to show your old man that just because I’m not out in the field like he is doesn’t mean I’ve gone soft.”

“Mind if I come with? I could use a run right now.” Nancy had talked to Frank a lot and she knew his tones of voice, and she could hear the strain in his voice even if her dad evidently couldn’t. His distress made her feel oddly cold in her stomach. A sort of agitated sadness took over her completely, and the sharp mood changed threw her. As much as she didn’t want to see him leave, being out of his engrossing presence would hopefully do wonders to clear her head.

“Of course Frank, go get changed,” Carson replied and trained his eyes on his daughter as he left the room. “Did I interrupt something there, Nancy?”

“No,” Nancy replied quickly and Carson raised his eyebrow with a knowing grin. “We were just catching up.”

“I thought you guys were on the phone for two hours just last week. How much catching up did you need to do?”

“Well, you know, I had that…thing,” Nancy said, very unconvincingly and she internally winced.

“Oh right, I forgot all about that thing.” His smile was the same one he wore in court when a witness inadvertently said something that Carson could use to win the case. Not for the first time, Nancy felt some sympathy for those of the receiving end of Carson’s cross examinations. At this point, Nancy could either keep talking and dig the hole she was in even deeper, or she could just not talk until her dad either left or God mercifully struck her down with lightening. She chose the latter.

“Nancy,” he said after a minute, sobering up. “I love you and I want you to be happy. At some point you’re going to have to decide what it is that will make you happy or you’re going to end up hurting people.” He was right and she knew he was right, but it was so much easier to just ignore the truth of the matter, or at least it used to be easier. It had been getting harder and harder to pretend nothing had changed with her heart and that she wasn’t being unfair to Ned.

“I know,” she said quietly. Carson came up behind her and kissed the top of her head before ruffling her hair like he used to do when she was younger.

“Being an adult is hard, isn’t it dear?” His tone was joking, succeeding in lightening the mood in the room, at least a bit.

“Ready to go?” Fenton asked as he and Frank appeared in the kitchen’s doorway.

Carson grinned. “Let’s go, old man.”

“Please, you have more gray hair than I do.”

 

                                                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Breakfast was ready and on the table when the men returned and Hannah grudgingly let them sit their sweaty selves in the dining room chairs, but only if she covered the upholstery with beach towels first. The pleasant meal was interrupted by a brisk knock at the door and upon Hannah’s return, she handed Nancy something, saying that a man in a fancy suit had given it to her.

“Ooo, an embossed letter,” Joe said excitedly, leaning over Nany’s shoulder.

“To the three of us,” Nancy replied with a frown, slipping the butter knife next to her plate under the envelope flap.

“To Miss Drew and the brothers Hardy,” Joe read aloud from the discarded envelope with a snort. “Who talks like that?”

“What does it say, Nance?” Nancy skimmed the letter before replying to Frank’s question.

“We’ve been invited to a dinner,” she replied slowly as she read the letter again, more carefully this time.

“A dinner?” Frank repeated, confused if only because the invitation had come out of nowhere.

“What will they be serving?” Joe questioned as he stood up and came to read the letter over Nancy’s shoulder.

“Oh, it’s one of those murder mystery dinners,” Nancy said excitedly. “It’s from a local theater troop who wants to do a dry run of their script to see if it’s believable. And they’ve invited us because of our detective reputation.” The way her eyes sparkled when she looked up and met his made Frank’s heart beat a whole lot faster than it had been. “What do you say, Hardy? Feel like being my date tomorrow night?”

Luckily for him, Frank’s overeager “Yes!” was drowned out by Joe’s loud, “What am I, chopped liver?” However, the look on his mother’s face told Frank that it hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. He blushed and refocused his attention on his eggs.

“Do the two of you have something nice to wear?” Hannah asked and Joe snorted.

“Of course we do! Great detectives like us are never unprepared!”

“Because I don’t let you be unprepared,” Frank murmured.

“At least I don’t still think cargo shorts are a good idea,” Joe retorted.

“Hey, I stand by those. They are very practical,” Frank said defensively. Joe and Bess had been trying to get him to give up his beloved cargo shorts for years. “Right, Nancy?”

“Right,” she agreed with a firm nod.

“As much as I love my daughter, I wouldn’t turn to her for fashion advice. Her wardrobe has really only improved in the last few years, and largely at Miss Marvin’s insistence,” Carson commented with a laugh.

“Dad!”


	3. Chapter 3

In hindsight, Nancy should have foreseen this fight with Ned, if she had bothered to consider the consequences even for a moment, but she hadn’t because she had always wanted to go to a murder-mystery dinner. And who better to go with than Frank and Joe Hardy? That thought alone should have been a red flag, but she had gotten very good at compartmentalizing such feelings that she had not thought about it at all. Again, problem.

She considered all this as she twisted in front of her mirror, smoothing out her sparkling silver dress. The sharp plunge of the neckline was perhaps a bit lower than she normally wore, but the skirt was just shy of her knees, so she didn’t feel uncomfortably on display. She also liked the bell sleeves that fluttered around her elbows because if she ever wore this dress while undercover, she could definitely conceal a recording device on her upper arms. Bess had rolled her eyes when she had pointed that out, while George had talked excitedly about the new, much less conspicuous recorder she was working on that would be virtually undetectable in that dress. It was also probably very telling that she had never worn this dress before because she had bought it for hers and Ned’s anniversary dinner, which she then missed for the Iceland case. And now she was wearing it to go to dinner with Frank on a night when she and Ned had had tentative date plans. As much as she didn’t like to admit it, Ned’s anger was completely justified.

Slipping on her burgundy booties, she checked her hair one more time before gathering her things. Her phone had been buzzing furiously before as she and Ned argued over text, but was silent now. Her dad’s words sounded through her head; he was right, she did need to make a choice. Ned didn’t deserve this. A knock sounded at her bedroom door and Frank came in, looking ridiculously handsome in his dark grey suit. His shirt was black, but his tie and pocket square were a metallic silver, matching Nancy’s dress perfectly and if Nancy believed in signs from the universe like Bess did, she would have been freaking out. As it was, she was just thinking how fortunate they were that Frank had insisted on him and Joe packing some formal wear, his reasoning being that alone they seemed to attract mysteries, but with Nancy it was almost a guarantee, so they had to be prepared for anything. She was also thinking that it was unfair for Frank to be standing there looking so good. Like, how was it even possible for one man to look _so good_?

“Wow, Nancy, you look… beautiful.” The reverence in Frank’s tone made butterflies erupt in her stomach and her face heat up. Her first instinct was to avert her gaze because the look on his face threatened to consume her entirely, but she didn’t. She felt herself falling in that moment or perhaps she had fallen long ago and was only admitting it to herself now. She took a step towards him, reaching out.

“Frank, I-” “Are you guys ready to go yet,” Joe asked as he came into the room.

“Dammit Joe!” Frank’s outburst shocked everyone, including Frank himself and the color drained from his face. He looked panicked, his eyes darting from his brother to Nancy to the floor. “I’ll uh- I’ll meet you guys downstairs.” Joe watched Frank go before turning to Nancy, who wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“You know I love you, Nance,” he began, uncharacteristically serious, “but I love my brother too. Don’t start something you don’t plan on following through.” She wanted to say that she didn’t know what he was talking about and anyway how was it Joe’s business. Just like her father, though, what Joe was telling her was something she needed to hear, whether or not she actually wanted to.

“I know,” she said instead, quietly. Joe’s stern gaze softened and he held out his arm to Nancy.

“Shall we?” She offered him a small smile as she took his arm. “Aw, cheer up Nancy. We both look too pretty for you to be sad,” he teased with a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes and together they descended the stairs to where Frank was waiting, still not willing to look at Joe or Nancy for very long.

“Where is this taking place again,” Joe asked after letting Frank simmer in uncomfortable silence for a minute.

“The Reverie Theater,” Nancy replied as they made their way to her blue roadster. The theater was one of the oldest buildings in River Heights, Nancy explained, and had been a place of particular interest to her when she was younger because it was the only building in town that was rumored to be haunted that she had yet to explore. Of course, Nancy didn’t believe in ghosts, but ghost stories usually meant a mystery and besides, who didn’t like cool old buildings? Frank had readily agreed to that while Joe had snorted, saying they were only worthwhile if they had at least two hidden passageways. However, the house had stood abandoned since before Nancy was born and was in such a state of disrepair that her father had forbid her from entering it. It was recently purchased by the Burberry Acting Guild from Chicago, who were going to host a grand reopening with a murder mystery dinner, the last rehearsal of which Nancy and the boys were attending.

They pulled up in front of what looked like a stately Victorian mansion. Lights spilled out onto the porch and parking lot and there were a man and woman dressed in early 1900s clothing standing at the door.

“A themed dinner,” Joe exclaimed excitedly. “I wish they had mentioned that in the invitation.”

“It was lucky enough that we brought suits with us. You definitely would have been unprepared if we had to wear costumes,” Frank pointed out.

“We could have gone shopping though,” Joe replied with a shrug. “I bet Bess knows a place.”

“Actually she knows two,” Nancy said offhandedly, slipping her arm through Frank’s without really thinking about the action at all. Joe shot her a mildly reproachful look, but neither Nancy nor Frank took notice of it; their attention was fixed on each other as they shared a smile, walking hip to hip, close together in their own little world. And they had only been out of the car for half a minute. Joe was torn between being excited for his brother and grossed out because did they have to be so cute together? Some people had no manners. He snapped a picture, not bothering to try and hide it because they were completely oblivious to him, and sent it to Bess.

 _Ew, that’s disgusting_ , was her reply, followed by an obscene amount of heart emoticons.

“Welcome, welcome,” the man called out as the three approached. Joe guessed him to be in his early thirties, his mind quickly cataloguing the fact that his clothes, while almost imperceptibly done, had been altered many times. “May we have your names?”

“Nancy Drew, Frank Hardy, and Joe Hardy,” Nancy replied. The woman checked the clipboard in her arms and smiled.

“How lovely of you to join us this evening! I’m Margot Matthews. My father is the head of the Burberry Acting Guild. And this is Sawyer Keaton, my fiancé and one of our lead actors.” He guessed Margot to be about the same age as Sawyer, but it seemed that she came from money. The clothes looked new, not worn or frayed at the edges. And her hair, where his was just slightly disheveled, was immaculately made up in a period appropriate hairstyle.

“Nice to meet you,” Nancy replied. “It was so nice to get your invitation. Believe it or not, I’ve never been to one of these before.”

“But you’ve stopped a terrorist organization in Scotland?” Sawyer asked with a grin. Nancy blushed and nervously tucked s loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“Well, not by myself.”

“How many people have you invited tonight,” Frank asked to draw the attention off Nancy.

“Only ten, including you three,” Sawyer replied. “A small group, sure, but they all have impressive detective records similar to yours.” He rubbed his jaw, looking thoughtful. “The Guild wanted to see how… predictable our writing is, you know, how easy it is to figure out. And there are a surprising amount of world renowned detectives in the Chicago area.”

“How did you know that we were here,” Joe asked with a slight frown.

“I follow you guys on Twitter.”

“What do you mean, you follow us on Twitter,” Frank demanded.

“Yeah, Hardy Brothers Investigations.” Frank rounded on Joe.

“I told you not to make that page!”

“Look how it’s paid off! How do you think we’ve gotten so many of our recent cases?”

“Anyway,” Nancy interrupted the boys before it could become an all-out shouting match, “again, thank you so much for inviting us.” Margot nodded with a knowing smile.

“Of course. My cousin Poppy will show you to your seats.” At her words, a short woman whose bright red hair probably made up half of her weight appeared.

“Right this way, please,” she instructed with a high, friendly voice. Joe thought she would probably make a very convincing Christmas elf or Tinker Bell and he would have shared the thought with his brother if the stick in the mud wasn’t still frowning about the Twitter page. Nancy was busy taking in their surroundings as they made their way to the back of the house.

“My uncle Roger saw this place and just fell in love with it,” Poppy was explaining as she bounced on ahead of them. “The place was practically falling apart when he found it, but that ended up coming in handy because we were able to expand the dining room to make place for a sort of stage.”

“The restoration work is beautiful,” Nancy commented and Poppy gave her a smile that took up most of her tiny face.

“Thanks, I was in charge of it. I studied architecture and history in college because I wanted to be able to restore the amazing history of the area.” They passed through a curtained doorway and into the dining area. “My uncle isn’t the sole owner, though does own the majority of it. The River Heights Historical Council had been trying to save this place for years and freaked when a private investor made an offer. There were petitions signed and protests against him buying this place because you know it was the first building erected in this area. The only way he could get them off his back was to promise to be accurate with the restoration and have the plays we put on be historically accurate. That’s why I was brought in because I am for sure not an actor. Not that it stops me, though it really should. It was actually kind of awkward because the group my husband runs, HAD-IT, were the ones leading the protests in the first place.” Nancy narrowed her eyes.

“I’ve dealt with HAD-IT before. What is your husband’s name?”

“Nick Falcone,” Poppy said, raising her eyebrows at Nancy. “Do you know him?”

“Nick Falcone? Oh yeah, I know him. We met back in St. Louis when they were going to demolish the Royal Palladium Theater.”

“You were there for that? You’ll see another face from that theater tonight, one my Nicky was not happy to see.” She laughed, a surprisingly loud sound. “Wait, you’re the Nancy who brought justice to the Falcone family.” Without warning, the shorter woman turned and threw her arms around Nancy. “We named our daughter after you! Well, her name is Luisa Nancy Falcone.” To Nancy’s great alarm, Poppy’s eyes filled with tears, ones she quickly wiped away. “I’m sorry, it’s just so nice to meet my child’s namesake.” She cleared her throat and as quickly as the emotion came over her, it went away, leaving Nancy wondering what had just happened. Poppy led them to a table, set up just for the three of them.

“Alright, this is your table here. If you need it, the bathroom is just outside the doorway we came through, first door on the right." Joe watched her skip out back out the way they had come and then the trio took their seats.

“What the hell was that,” Joe demanded as he stared Poppy’s retreating figure with great confusion.

“I’m not…entirely…sure.”

“Interesting what she said about the Historical council though,” Frank said, unbuttoning his jacket as he sat.

“Very,” Nancy agreed. “I remember when that was in the papers, it got pretty nasty.”

“One should never piss off historians,” Joe intoned solemnly.

“Or older brothers,” Frank warned back. Joe threw his hands in the air.

“Why are you making such a big deal about this? It is one Twitter page!”

“Because I told you I didn’t want my business all over the internet.”

“News flash, Frank, your business was already all over the internet. We solve cases all over the world! At least this way, we can control what is said.” Frank was quiet as he digested that.

“Okay, sorry, you’re right,” he mumbled.

“Damn right I’m right.”

“ _Joe…_ ”

“Sorry, sorry.”

Nancy watched the interaction pass with amusement. She had always been fond of, and maybe a little jealous of, the way Frank and Joe interacted as brothers. They always seemed to be in a disagreement about something, but there was no denying that they loved each other and genuinely enjoyed spending time together. It was a sort of bond she didn’t have with anyone, being an only child. As if sensing the lonely turn her thoughts were taking, Frank turned to her and smiled.

“Sorry you had to witness that.”

“It wasn’t the first time,” she replied in good humor. “Besides, I like being in the middle of it. Makes me feel like part of the family.”

“You are part of the family, Nance,” Joe said, throwing his arm around one of her shoulders and resting his chin on the other. “You’re like a sister to me. Or a sister-in-law…” he trailed off. “Ow, damn it!”

“Sorry,” Frank ground out, “had a leg spasm.”

As the exchanged passed, Poppy led more people into the room, some of them Nancy recognized and some she did not. She was a bit surprised to see Alexei Markovic being escorted to a seat across the room, but gave him a genuine smile and wave all the same. Of course he would be here, if not for the mystery than for his love of history. He gave her a small salute, a grin lighting up his usually dour face. The man had really taken a shine to Nancy when she had been falsely accused of setting a building on fire. It never ceased to amaze her what could bring people together. Next to him sat Nick Falcone who, when he saw who had caught Alexei’s eye, lit up and blew her a friendly kiss. Nancy supposed she should take it as a compliment that he didn’t hold it against her that she had accused him of kidnapping and attempted murder.

The waiters brought around a small menu of three dishes they could choose from and once that was through, the lights were dimmed. One man in a satin robe took the stage, pretending to examine the contents of a bookcase. A knock at the set’s door caused him to turn and Nancy saw that it was none other than Brady Armstrong.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Nancy whispered in mild horror. Frank furrowed his brows. She shook her head. “I’ll explain later.”

Later, it turned out, could not come soon enough. Poppy had not been lying about not being able to act, giving her character of Brady’s maid an inexplicable Cockney accent. Brady could apparently not remember any of his blocking, having to constantly look at the tape on the floor to figure out where he was supposed to stand before delivering his lines and when he did actually say his lines, they were in a loud monotone. How he got cast as the main detective was beyond her. The show was saved from being a complete disaster by the rest of the cast, particularly by Sawyer, who turned the eccentric playboy millionaire into a surprisingly touching, beautiful character. All in all, it was a confusing evening and Nancy was glad when intermission came; she desperately needed some air.

“I can’t tell if I liked that or not,” Franks mused as he scuffed his toe in the asphalt of the parking lot, hands in his pockets.

“I like how eclectic it is,” Joe said happily, blowing out hard breaths to watch it fog up in the air. “The acting may not be that great, but the writing really is good,” Nancy pointed out. “Though I’m fairly confident that I know who the killer is.”

“It’s Poppy with that horrible accent,” Joe shuddered.

“Hey now, that’s my wife!” All three spun around to find Nick Falcone coming down the steps toward them. He gave Nancy a huge smile, throwing his arms around her and pulling her close. She returned the hug, but it went on for a bit longer than she thought was strictly necessary. She heard Frank give an obviously fake laugh before she felt his hands on her shoulders, pulling her backwards. Frank settled his arm around her shoulders, still laughing in a painfully awkward way.

“Smooth, Frank. Real smooth,” Joe deadpanned. Frank’s face was a deep shade of red, but he did not seem at all inclined to release Nancy.

“I’m just playing,” Nick laughed, not at all phased. “My wife has many strengths, but acting is not one of them. But Nancy, imagine running into you again! How’ve you been?” Nancy was about to answer, but she was cut off. “Did Poppy tell you we named our daughter after you for avenging my grandmother Luisa?” Again, she was about to reply, but he them focused on Frank and Joe. “Do you know the story of my grandmother Luisa?”

“Yes,” Frank replied quickly. “Tragic story, what happened to grandmother Luisa.”

“But a happy ending thanks to Nancy. Oh, you should have been there-”

“Intermission is over in five minutes, if you want to return to your seats,” Margot announced, to Nancy and the Hardys’ intense relief. “I’ll have to tell you guys later, then. I’ll find you after the show,” Nick announced, waving to them as he walked back in.

“That was…” Frank began.

“Yeah,” Nancy agreed.

“I am suddenly so glad that we never run into any of our former suspects,” Joe added.

“There’s one I want to find afterwards. You guys will like him; he runs the antique store in town.”

“Antique store? Wait, is he the one who made Bess cry,” Joe demanded.

“He apologized for that later! Also, don’t bring up Ned,” Nancy warned. “Alexei hasn’t really gotten over being falsely accused for a second crime by him yet.”

Ned was an off-limits topic? Frank liked this Alexei already. And hated himself for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Brady's acting to be similar to Tommy Wiseau's in "The Room", in all it's painful to watch glory.


End file.
